Singer d4vd’s preliminary hearing sheds new light on the investigation into teen girl’s killing. Here are the takeaways
By Jason Kravarik, CNN
Los Angeles (CNN) — A preliminary hearing has revealed new details on some of the evidence prosecutors say they have gathered against d4vd in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez: testimony of blood stains on various items from his garage, chainsaw purchases and explicit text messages with the girl.
The 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Burke, is accused of killing the girl after she threatened to expose their relationship and damage his lucrative career as a rising music star. Testimony on Friday included text messages between them that prosecutors say show a sexual relationship with the victim who was just 13 at the time, and that Celeste had an abortion the year before she was killed. A judge is weighing whether there’s enough to move forward with a trial.
Celeste’s dismembered body was found in the trunk of d4vd’s Tesla in September 2025, which was parked near his rented Los Angeles home. The musician has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilating human remains.
Body camera footage of a search of d4vd’s home was shown in court this week, as well as graphic images of Celeste’s dismembered body. The court also heard discussion of chainsaws and a burn box d4vd allegedly purchased under different aliases.
D4vd sat at the defense table in an orange jumpsuit and dark-rimmed glasses, listening as Los Angeles Police Department criminalists and detectives described blood stains on various items at his home that they say were a potential match for Celeste, and described sexually explicit photos they say are of him and the victim; and as a deputy medical examiner described the girl’s injuries.
His defense attorneys worked to challenge the evidence and its collection, providing a window into what could become part of d4vd’s defense strategy if the case goes to trial.
Here are the key takeaways from the preliminary hearing so far:
Gruesome photos shown in court
The parents of Celeste Rivas Hernandez were present when gruesome evidence photos were shown in court. They depicted badly decomposed human remains in several bags removed from d4vd’s Tesla.
“There you see the head and torso minus the limbs,” LAPD detective Joshua Byers said on the witness stand. Celeste’s mother dropped her head and was comforted by a county employee.
“She said, ‘I want to be here to show support for Celeste,’” the family’s civil attorney Patrick Steinfeld later told reporters outside the courthouse Tuesday.
It was the first time the parents saw those images, he added.
Another photo showed blue plastic fragments embedded in a knee, which prosecutors maintain are from an inflatable pool d4vd allegedly used while dismembering the body.
Photos of Celeste’s severed hand were also shown. In one, she is missing a pinky and ring finger. The prosecution previously said d4vd removed them because they had a tattoo of his name, according to a brief filed in court. Later, Byers testified that booking photos revealed d4vd had a tattoo of the name “Celeste” on his left ring finger.
The family was not present Friday for the medical examiner’s testimony, which featured graphic autopsy photos including two puncture wounds to the chest and abdomen that the medical examiner determined caused the victim’s death.
D4vd’s phone and iCloud reveal sexually explicit photos
Dozens of photos depicting what prosecutors labeled child sexual abuse material were discussed in court – the images were not displayed to the public. LAPD detective Corey Farell said the images were recovered from d4vd’s phone and iCloud data. Farell described to the courtroom nearly 50 photos that showed sexually explicit photos, including ones where he identified d4vd and the victim.
Farell said the first online messages between d4vd and Celeste trace back to August 2022, when she was 11 years old. Their sexual relationship began when Celeste was 13 and was detailed in graphic text messages Farell read aloud in court.
“They discussed past sexual liaisons and future sexual liaisons. They discussed their relationship, their future relationship,” Farell said.
Prosecutors: texts reveal victim had abortion at 13
Text messages between d4vd and Celeste showed them discussing sex, as well as Celeste talking about taking Plan B emergency contraceptive, getting an abortion and potentially having children in the future.
Other texts revealed plans to move in together in what the pair called “Operation Awesome.”
Later texts show the relationship deteriorating, with Celeste saying she was upset about getting the abortion. “I killed my first kid for you,” she wrote to d4vd, according to testimony.
Throughout the testimony, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman asked about the age of the victim.
“She was 13,” Farell said on numerous occasions. D4vd was 18 and 19 during the time period discussed.
Prosecutors say d4vd used aliases to order items to his home
Byers, the LAPD detective, testified that d4vd had items sent to his home under two different aliases. Some of the items, prosecutors allege, were used during the dismemberment of the victim.
Under the name “Travion Davis,” d4vd allegedly ordered from Amazon a fireproof mat, a shovel, an inflatable pool and several chainsaws. Two of those chainsaws were recovered at the home and did not show trace evidence for blood. A third chainsaw, purchased from Home Depot, was not found by law enforcement.
A shovel and mat were also not found, Byers said.
D4vd ordered a so-called burn box under the alias “Victoria Martinez,” Byers testified.
“A device that can be used to create a high enough temperature to burn items… It’s like a mini crematorium-type… to burn items to nothing,” Byers said.
The burn box was found unopened in its original box and was not tested by evidence technicians. Defense attorneys questioned why it was never tested for “touch DNA,” or traces of evidence left by someone who may have handled the box, since other people had been in and out of the home.
DNA evidence matches
Several blood samples found in d4vd’s Tesla and his rented home produced a statistically strong match to the victim, an LAPD criminalist testified.
Among the matches were two red stains found in the Tesla’s trunk and one in the interior of the car. At the home, a blood stain on a mat covering the garage floor and stains on a rowing machine and Tesla charger plug statistically matched Celeste’s DNA, said Samantha Tosch, the LAPD criminalist who analyzed the samples.
But the defense sought to challenge the certainty of some of the LAPD findings. Namely, a black trash bag with DNA from four people, including d4vd. In that sample, some were considered to be more likely contributors than others, and testing was unable to pinpoint d4vd’s exact probability, a distinction Tosch agreed with.
The defense also raised questions over the decision not to collect and test chainsaws found in the home that the criminalist determined on site to have no traces of blood.
“You did not collect them to test for any… marks on the blade that could be consistent with dismemberment?” asked defense attorney Blair Berk.
LAPD detective Byers said, “if those chainsaws were used to dismember a body, there would be no way they couldn’t have blood” on them.
The line of questioning could be a window into part of d4vd’s defense strategy at trial.
“If he can somehow show the evidence is tainted or was collected in an improper manner, maybe it creates reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror,” attorney and legal analyst David Ring told CNN.
Victim’s ID found by roadside worker
A key piece of evidence in the case is Celeste’s discarded passport ID card found nearly 85 miles outside Los Angeles – and a stroke of luck may be the only reason it was found.
California Highway Patrol Officer Sean Buenrostro testified that a state employee doing traffic control along Highway 154 north of Santa Barbara found the ID card when he stepped off the road into the dirt and brush beyond the shoulder.
“In the past he’s found several interesting things on the freeway shoulders, so he was just looking around,” Buenrostro said. “Once he found the card he Googled the name… he began seeing articles of news stories. When he realized what he found, he called our dispatch.”
LAPD detectives arrived a few days later to further search the area but found no more evidence.
Prosecutors say d4vd made 3 trips to remote area
D4vd made three separate trips to rural Santa Barbara County in the months following Celeste’s disappearance, including on the last day she was seen alive, prosecutors allege.
Using cellular analysis of a phone allegedly belonging to d4vd and a modem inside his Tesla, prosecutors allege that on April 23, 2025 – the day they believe Celeste was killed – d4vd drove to the same area along Highway 154 where her ID would later be found.
LAPD detective and cellular analyst William Roecker testified that on the night d4vd allegedly made that trip, he made an outgoing call to Celeste’s number at 12:04 a.m. while driving north.
Prosecutors have maintained d4vd made the call, and other texts, to Celeste’s phone to appear as if he was concerned for her whereabouts and “to set up his defense,” according to a brief filed in court.
Two more trips to Santa Barbara County followed: one between May 8 and 9, and another on May 31, Roecker testified, citing cellular data. During one of those trips, Roecker said, Tesla’s records show the vehicle stopped at a charging station north of the area where Celeste’s ID card was found.
The defense argued the cellular data is not an exact science, and that regardless, there’s no proof d4vd was the one who actually made the trips.
D4vd initially claimed he didn’t know Celeste was underage
In body camera video played in court from before she was killed, d4vd told a sheriff’s deputy he didn’t know Celeste was underage when he first met her.
“She told me she was 18, everyone is saying she’s 13,” he said while showing deputies photos he had of Celeste on his phone, including a missing person flyer that was posted in her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California.
The exchange came during a welfare check in February 2024 at a West Hollywood home d4vd was living in. Deputies were following up on the missing person report but did not find Celeste at the home and were satisfied with d4vd’s level of cooperation. Celeste returned home shortly after the welfare check.
In the body camera footage, a deputy told d4vd “I hope they find her.”
“I do too,” he replied.
D4vd stood to make millions from future albums
D4vd turned a viral gaming hobby into a bona fide music career by creating songs for gamers to use in videos. His 2022 breakout hit “Romantic Homicide” hit the Billboard chart and essentially launched his stardom.
A lucrative record contract could have paid d4vd up to 19 million dollars if all aspects of the contract, including the release of future albums, were met, Louis Poimiroo, a finance executive for Interscope Records, testified. Interscope had opted out of the deal in late 2025, he added, which was sometime after a body was found in the trunk of d4vd’s Tesla.
D4vd’s financial manager Ben Greger testified the artist was paid between 10 million and 11.5 million dollars between 2023 and 2025.
The finances are relevant because the prosecution alleges d4vd killed Celeste in part to protect his finances. That “special circumstance” tied to the murder charge he’s facing is one factor that that allows courts to impose harsher penalties such as life without parole or the death penalty.
Prosecutors have not yet said if they will seek the death penalty. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a statewide moratorium on the death penalty, banning executions during his time in office, though prosecutors may still seek capital punishment.
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CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.
